No more distractions, it's time for tolerance & governance

As the Chief Minister Gujarat, Narendra Modi had once stated that the rupee is in the ICU. He had also said "The way rupee value has been falling, it looks as though there were a competition between rupee and the (then) Delhi government". His BJP MP Sushma Swaraj was right when she said, "Rupee is not a piece of paper (to fly and fall). The nation's prestige is attached to it."

Now, the rupee is fast approaching the Rs 80 mark (against 1 US dollar) and one does not hear similar voices of concern. And whatever little voices come from people such as former Finance Minister P Chidambaram or Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, they will get lost in the tsunami of intolerant backlash. It is in this context that one has to take a serious note of what Chief Justice of India N V Ramana said. "There used to be mutual respect between the government and opposition. Unfortunately, space for opposition is diminishing," he said and remarked these are not signs of a healthy democracy.

This was the exact line of thought that this column has been presenting and raising concern against the vanishing opposition. The CJI has also pointed out, "Sadly, the country is witnessing a decline in the quality of legislative performance." He had a very strong point on the way the laws are being passed "without detailed deliberations and scrutiny".

The general atmosphere of intolerance can also be gauged from the list of so-called unparliamentary words floated in the official channels and the moves to curtail protests within the Parliament premises. Congress-mukt Bharat and other words are all fine from the political perspective. Having diminished the opposition, why should the ruling dispensation be worried about some small, feeble voices which anyway get trolled and submerged in the tsunami of intolerant protests.

BJP strategist and Home Minister Amit Shah is confident that the party will rule the country for the next couple of decades as obviously he does not see any chance of any opposition emerging strong enough to withstand the saffron tsunami. Does the party not believe in its own predictions? What is it worried about?

The political opposition is dying due to its own contradictions. The ongoing developments related to the Presidential election clearly show the dissipating opposition to BJP's Droupadi Murmu who will be elected with a thumping majority unless there is a large-scale cross voting. BJP need not worry about the replay of V V Giri's election of 1969. There is no Indira Gandhi now who would call for a 'conscious vote' and ensure Yashwant Sinha's election.

In both houses of Parliament, BJP has the majority enough to crush any opposition even if there is a fiery debate on any issue. It rules 18 states and is bound to win a few more in the next elections. So, why should they be worried and focusing only on governments? It is time the party focused on governance as well.

The Covid management period is over. The statistics of 200 crore vaccinations done is fine, but the fully vaccinated data is less than half of that. People and the Covid management machinery are not moving with the same speed as they have done during Operation Dose-1, probably due to the complacency about the impact of Omicron and its variants. Covid stimulus and various concessions offered by the government have ended. They were not supposed to be permanent anyway.

Now is the time for the government to go in for a wide range of consultations with the industry, business and commoners and gauge the sentiment beyond sycophancy. The government ought to look at ways to create jobs, allow people to earn and then spend. This cycle is a must for the economy to flourish. It does not require any great research or economists' presentations. It is simple logic. We talk of ease of doing business. We talk of encouraging startups, self-employment and then generating jobs.

The frustration against unemployment is always visible whenever we see any protests. From the ground level political workers to the top leadership must realise this bitter truth. These protests are different from the hired or political rallies and the government's own intelligence network must be giving the feedback to the Home Minister.

To analyse the economic scenario, the government must read its own press releases. For example, "The high rate of inflation in June, 2022 is primarily due to rise in prices of mineral oils, food articles, crude petroleum & natural gas, basic metals, chemicals & chemical products and food products as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year."

When the government says this, it must know the ways to counter such a crisis. You have got a host of experts – from the RBI to the NITI Ayog. Listen to them. Listen to the experienced people, even if they do not toe the BJP's line of thinking. The Congress government had the magnanimity to send the then opposition leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee to the UN to represent India. The least the BJP can do is to listen to voices other than its own!

There have been warnings against the dangers of repetition of the Sri Lanka kind of crisis in India. Though we may not be in such a dire situation in terms of debt position as of now, there is no guarantee that the future could turn dangerous. For all that we shout from the top of the Himalayas against China, our balance of payments is still in the red with the red nation. Our imports from it continue to be higher than our exports.

Meanwhile, indications are that the gap between overall exports and imports can worsen if inflationary pressure goes unchecked. It is in this context that the 5 per cent GST on pre-packed and labelled meat (except frozen), fish, curd, paneer, honey, dried leguminous vegetables, dried makhana, wheat and other cereals, wheat or meslin flour, jaggery, puffed rice (muri), all goods and organic manure and coir pith compost are worrisome. The government wants to encourage the food processing industry and then imposes 12 per cent GST on mango pulp.

The Prime Minister speaks passionately about the nation using LED bulbs to save power consumption and, when the sales rise, the government slaps an 18 per cent GST. And 18 per cent GST on e-waste when you want to encourage scientific disposal of the hazardous waste? The traders' body has already threatened a strike. This kind of unrest against these kinds of GST levies can rise. The government can do without such disturbances and then resort to politicised distractions.

Everybody suffered during COVID and lockdown. In this Amrit Mahotsav year, the least that the people expect is some happiness. As we have been discussing, this calls for an inclusive approach. Votes will come automatically, depending on the performance, and there is no fear of even a semblance of opposition. Narendra Modi promised us minimum government and maximum governance. Nobody will oppose it. Last week, we pointed out that often, the Centre appoints Governors to rehabilitate the ruling party leaders or have those who suit Delhi's political interest. We are happy to see Vice President Venkaiah Naidu echoing the sentiments when he said: "the Office of a Governor is neither an ornamental position nor a political position and that their conduct should set an example for the state administration."

(The columnist is a Mumbai-based media veteran now running websites and a youtube channel known for his thought-provoking messaging.)